September 22, 2008

Communication tools

Hmmm Twitter...I'm still a bit lost. I've heard of twitter mostly on the radio, I have never used it and today was the first time I browsed through the "timeline" to get a feel for it. At first it was strange, however, once I read the "Twitter in Academia" article, it made a little more sense.
I really like the ideas on building classroom community, chatter amongst the students, and more so, the opportunity that it gave the instructor to learn more about the lives of his students. In doing so, he was better able to deliver a class that was interesting and related to the "real world" where students live day in and day out. I will keep investigating this twitter thing to see how I could use it for my work.

September 18, 2008

Flat classrooms!!!

Ooppss...It looks like I missed week 6 somewhere...so here is my entry on Wikis :) I loved the Flat Classroom idea where students from different parts of the world can share ideas on common projects, etc. A colleague and I in the EdPA department here at the U have been implemented something like the Flat Classrooms (not so advanced though :( with students in MN and Morelos, Mexico. There is a small town in Morelos that has over a third of its population residing in the Twin Cities...we have attempted to connect classrooms utilizing chats, and web cams. Now knowing about this Flat Classroom project will help us take our little project a step further. This is great...how many opportunities! We could use this with 4-H as well...connecting club across the country that would like to share projects, ideas, and do so with technology! Doing so allows for children to explore other cultures, ideas, and worldviews!

Social Networking

Social networking has a great deal of potential for my work and my organization (Extension- YWI). We have been discussing this at staff meetings, among co-workers, etc. since many of your younger audience (newer youth workers) are on these social networking sites. We ask ourselves? What is our presence? How can we reach out to them through Facebook and other sites in which they network and stay connected?
I personally believe that there is potential for us to get out there, learn what others are doing, and utilize these spaces as another avenue to reach our audience, promote our programs, and get ideas on current issues affecting our clients.
I've been in Facebook for a few years now (started it in college) and I have continued to use it, I stay connected with colleagues, old friends, and family and friends in Argentina :).

September 8, 2008

Google Docs

I've used Google Docs many times in the past. I find it useful when I'm working on writing assignments with others (specially if those who I'm working with are in another country). We have shared documents, edited them, etc. In addition, I've used it to share documents with my family in Argentina...we go back and forth at different documents, making changes, etc...so this is not only useful in my professional/student life, but also in my personal life.

I checked out Zoho Writer to see something new and different from what I'm used to. I personally like the fact you can access the docs from anywhere without having to save them on a USB flash drive, or email it to yourself...and I believe that since they (google, etc.) store them for you, it doesn't take space from your hard drive...That being said, we run the risk that they loose our docs and we can't retrieve them. Great week, I can't wait for the social networking piece next week :).

September 1, 2008

Related podcasts

I love podcasts!!! I love the fact that I might miss something on the radio and I can go online later and still listen to the entire show (especially on NPR)...I like the Midmorning show (which I rarely get to listen to it since I'm at work during that time). I added the Midmorning podcast link to my Bloglines website...(Is this for our own use or other people can also view it? If anyone has the answer, please let me know...I'm still not totally clear on that one :).